


China

by miizure



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Child Abuse, Childhood Trauma, Domestic Violence, Gen, Hurt with very little comfort, giving us a shitty abusive dad, level 5 went and fucked up, like at the very end, these poor kids, yeeowch!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:34:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27577256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miizure/pseuds/miizure
Summary: Living in this cursed mansion fills you with a sense of dread and fear no child should ever experience. Even the most innocent of errors can leave an eternal scar on your childhood memories.
Relationships: Randall Ascot & Henry Ledore
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9





	China

He couldn't stop it.

He couldn't stop that delicate cup from gracefully sliding off the tray, from falling helplessly to the floor.

Time itself felt as if it had slowed. The Earth had stopped spinning. His world was closing in on him. Suffocating him. Drowning out any hope of being able to get out of this situation unharmed.

The brittle porcelain collided with the wooden floor, creating an ear-splitting shattering noise that echoed around Henry's ears. Tiny pieces of china tinkled around the impact, and with each piece that bounced, it felt as though a small needle was being jabbed into his arms. His heart was pounding. He could hear his blood roaring in his veins. The air went frigid, and his body instantly froze.

All he could do was stare with wide, glassy blue eyes, and feel the terror creeping into him at an agonizingly slow pace as the destroyed teacup glittered across the floor.

He could feel his skin burn as a shadow loomed over him, enshrouding his body in darkness. Like the dark itself was poisoning him, he felt ill. He didn't dare to look up at whomever had approached him; he already knew.

And he wanted to run.

He wanted to scream.

He wanted to  _ die. _

  
  


" **Henry.** "

There was no sympathy in that deep voice. There never was.

" **Do you know how much that set cost me?** "

His face was burning under the hard stare of the Lord's eyes. Tears that stung like acid rolled down his cheeks.

" **Answer me, boy.** "

His throat felt unbearably tight and dry, as though he'd swallowed a handful of sand prior to speaking. His mouth moved, but no words came out from between his quivering lips. It took a few seconds- which felt more like years- for something audible to finally come out:

" _ I-I don't know, sir. _ "

The shadow stood upright, folding his arms angrily. His gaze never left him, still piercing through his soul like a white hot knife.

" **Of course not. You don't care about the value of material things. You don't care about money at all. My hard work allows me to obtain such valuable trinkets, and I** **expect** **that they are kept in pristine condition. Yet you wish to sully my name, my wealth, by destroying it all?** "

Henry chokes on his words again. " _ N-No, sir. _ "

" **You** **_LIE!_ ** "

Suddenly, he's swept off his feet. It took a while for him to register the stinging pain on his cheek as he collapsed to the ground. The teapot he had also been carrying now soars into the wall, creating a louder, harsher  _ crash _ as its contents splashed across the floor. Pain seared through his body once he came in contact with the ground, and as he attempted to recover, a large hand reached down and roughly pulled him up by the collar of his shirt, where he found himself being lifted off the ground and suspended in the air, forced to make eye contact with the darkness before him.

His Master.

_ Lord Ascot. _

" **I did not waste my time to train an incompetent** **_child._ ** **A proper servant knows not to make messes or mistakes. And now look: You've destroyed my fine tea set, its value now naught. I will not allow this to go by silently.** "

Henry writhes beneath his grasp, fighting to free himself from the clutches of Death itself. He's crying, sobbing, desperately pleading for a miracle to strike the Lord down where he stands, and end this hell once and for all.

But there's no such thing as miracles.

He's dropped to the floor again, now sitting atop broken bits of porcelain and lukewarm tea. His body, paralyzed by fear, trembles violently, wanting to escape.

There's nowhere to run.

He tenses up when Ascot raises a hand up into the air. He knows what's going to happen.

And he can't stop it.

Wind blows past his ear, and for a moment, his vision goes black. When he can see again, his vision is blurry, his head is once again on the floor, and now there's a searing pain across his cheek. Bringing a shaky hand up to touch it, he can feel something wet attach itself to his fingertips, and as he moved to examine it, the bright crimson that appeared made him feel violently ill, and had to suppress a gag from forming.

By now, he hadn't even realized he'd voided himself from fear. Lord Ascot simply stood before him, looking down at his filthy, helpless servant, with a look that contained no softness in his eyes, or any remorse for what he'd done.

A sharp, dull pain forms in his chest, and he's been forcefully rolled over against the wall. His lungs felt empty, and he gasped for air, trying to ignore the pain that overtook him with each breath.

His ears were ringing. Ringing. Not a sound could be heard around him. Not even the sound of small footsteps rushing to his side and circling him.

"STOP IT!"

The voice was shaky and small, but loud enough to cause the Lord to take a step back.

"STOP IT, FATHER! JUST STOP IT!"

Henry felt too weak to move.

"R… Ran… dall…?"

" **Get out of my way. This is not your battle to fight. Stop trying to defend this useless boy.** "

Randall stomps a foot into the ground furiously.

"NO! I want you to leave Henry alone! So what if he dropped a teacup?! You can always get another!"

Lord Ascot scoffs and leans in close, his arms slowly becoming outstretched.

" **What did I tell you about trying to dictate how I live? This is your fortune too, you know.** "

Randall's voice cracks, fear settling in. Henry can only assume the reason why he was suddenly so scared. "I… I don't CARE! I don't CARE if this is my money! I don't CARE about the business! I care about Henry! I care about his safety, and I want him to be treated like a member of our family!"

There's a long period of silence between them, which was only time being used to release the remainder of Ascot's pent-up anger.

Randall cries out hoarsely, then gags repeatedly, with little, strained noises that sounded like a cry for help barely escaping him.

" **He is a servant, and nothing more. I don't** **_ever_ ** **want to hear you speak of treating him like a member of** **_our_ ** **family again.** "

Randall is thrown backwards, colliding with Henry's frail body. He gasps and sobs loudly, his entire figure shaking so hard that Henry could feel himself moving along with him.

" **Do you understand?** "

Randall wails. He attempts to nod slightly, but the pain in his neck is too much for him to lower his head down fully. Henry could feel some strength returning to his body, and started to roll over.

" **Clean this mess up,** " he bellows, heavy footsteps echoing away from them.

Randall cries into the empty hallway for several minutes. Henry, now facing him, reaches a weak arm out to drape over his shoulder, attempting to pull him close. Even in a hysteric fit, Randall knew what he was trying to do, and allowed himself to fall on top of him, gripping as tight as he possibly could and burying his head into Henry's chest.

"I-I'm-  _ hic!  _ I'm s-sorry…" He stutters, hugging Henry tight. "I'm s-sorry… I'm sorry…!"

_ It's okay, _ Henry wanted to say, but couldn't. 

"Wh-When I- When  _ w-we _ get b-bigger… We- We're getting out of h-here… I p-promise…" Randall whispers, reaching out to touch the drying blood on Henry's cheek. "I… I'm gonna p-protect you… No matter- No matter what…!"

As the two lie on the floor in a protective embrace, Henry found himself running his hand up and down Randall's back. He was the only one who truly cared about him. The only one who saw him as a human being in this house of horrors. And how he, too, longed to be free… But they were still too young to do so.

They were only children, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> ha... sorry. i was discussing how miracle mask literally got away with giving us not one, but TWO victims of abuse, and... seriously, what the fuck were they thinking??
> 
> twitter: [@reIicuum](http://twitter.com/reiicuum)


End file.
